Torrenting may not be illegal– unless you download copyrighted content– but it can be unsafe.
You can unwittingly download malware and infect your computer or have your connection throttled by your ISP.
The good news is there are ways to download torrents anonymously.
How To Torrent Anonymously
Torrenting can be risky.
The Internet is overflowing with copyrighted content that’s a click away from ending up on your computer. Depending on your location, this could get you into serious trouble.
Even if you manage to avoid content that’s illegal to download, you can inadvertently download malware-laden files.
And since torrenting has a reputation for being used to pirate movies, music, and other copyrighted content, ISP providers don’t take to torrenting lightly. Repeated offenders might find their bandwidth reduced or have their accounts suspended.
Here’s how to download torrents anonymously.
1. VPN
The best way to torrent anonymously is with a VPN.
VPNs route your traffic through a server within their network, which helpshide your IP address, and encrypts your Internet connection to prevent snoopers from seeing your online activity.
More importantly, good VPNs hide your online traffic from your ISP too. Your ISP will be able to see that your actual online traffic is hidden from them, but they won’t know what websites you’re visiting or the files you upload to or download from unencrypted websites.
In addition to allowing you to download any torrent anonymously, they can also unblock geo-restricted content and allow you to access sites that arenot available in your country or region.
Finding a good VPN can be tricky. If you’re not sure which one is a good fit for you, check out our top picks for the best VPNs for torrenting.
2. Seedbox
Torrenting anonymously is also possible via a seedbox.
Seedboxes, which are built for the single purpose of torrenting, are remote servers that store torrents.
They are popular among torrent users because they typically offer high data rates – sometimes up to 10 Gbps– that allow users to download files at blazing speeds.
What makes them a good option for anonymous torrenting is that with seedboxes, you essentially upload and download files outside of your local network. To access a seedbox, you’ll typically need to use a secure file-transferring protocol, which hides your IP address.
Anyone trying to track your IP address, including your ISP provider, will only see the IP address of the seedbox.
However, seedboxes don’t encrypt your traffic.
If you want the best of both worlds, you can use a seedbox and a VPN, though, this will slow down your downloads.
3. Cloud Torrent Downloaders
Third-party cloud torrent downloaders let you upload and download torrents remotely, on a cloud service, rather than your computer.
They operate on dedicated servers, with uplinks that are much faster than a regular, home connection. Since you’re not downloading the files directly to your computer, your files won’t take up any space on your device and it will be harder for your ISP to throttle your download speed.
The best part about cloud torrent downloaders is that you can access the files from any device. Some even let you stream content directly from the server.
Although these services allow you to torrent anonymously, they all require users to create an account and you might need to subscribe to a paid plan (which would include providing some personal information) for more cloud storage space.
If you’re looking for a good cloud torrenting provider, some of the best on the market are Filestream, Premiumize, Cloudload, and Bitport.
4. i2P
An Invisible Internet Project (i2P) is a highly-secure P2P network that allows users to download any torrent anonymously and for free.
It uses end-to-end encryption and so-called garlic routing which splits your message into smaller messages, which travel separately until their destination.
Unlike VPNs or seedboxes, i2P uses uni-directional tunnels that separate outgoing and incoming traffic, which eliminates the need for senders and recipients to reveal their IPs.
Its biggest advantage is that the network is completely decentralized and spreads across thousands of different devices, rather than relying on a single entity. If one device gets compromised, it wouldn’t affect the whole system.
However, torrent users don’t typically flock to i2P because it can be complicated to set up and is slow. The maximum speed this network has is 100kb/s.
5. Usenet
Usenet is one of the oldest working networks where you can upload files (called binaries) on newsgroups for other users to download and vice versa.
The biggest advantage that Usenet has over torrent clients is that not anyone can access it, which means there’s less spying and tracking going on, compared to other torrenting platforms.
As an extra layer of security, the network uses 256-keys SSL encryption, which prevents your ISP or any other parties from seeing what you’re downloading.
Finally, Usenet doesn’t use P2P like torrent clients. This means that you’re not dependent on whether other users are seeding to download or access the content you are looking at and your download speed won’t be affected by anything other than your own Internet connection.
To access Usenet, you will need a paid subscription with a Usenet service provider, which might require doing some research. There are some ISPs that offer it as a separate add-on, but most of them do not allow access to the groups where you can download files.
6. Anomos
Anomos is a multi-platform that allows for downloading torrents anonymously and for free via BitTorrent.
The program uses onion routing and end-to-end encryption throughout the downloading process to ensure security and anonymity. This means that your IP address remains hidden and safe from snoopers.
The interface is simple and the program is easy to use, making it a great option for less tech-savvy users.
One major drawback is that torrent files are proprietary and the download speeds can be slow.
Also, if you want to use it for torrenting, you will have to jump through some hoops. Anomos doesn’t work well with .torrent files and you will have to convert them into .atorrent files.
7. BTGuard
BitTorrentGuard is a proxy and a VPN that’s specifically designed for P2P fans and downloading torrents anonymously.
The tool offers the standard symmetric encryption – 256-bit AES and combines it with asymmetric RSA-1028 encryption, for better speeds and security. It’s available on most devices, including Mac, Linux, and Windows and uses OpenVPN and PPTP.
The VPN also boasts unlimited bandwidth and reasonable speeds, but it does have some drawbacks.
Despite boasting more than 1,000 servers, they are all based in only three countries, Canada, Singapore, and the Netherlands. Also, BTGuard doesn’t offer a kill switch and might leak your IP address if your VPN disconnects.
8. Torrent Proxy
A torrent proxy, just like any other type of proxy server, allows for torrent anonymity.
A torrent proxy operates in a similar way as VPNs. It hides your IP address by routing the traffic of your torrent client via an anonymous server, which generates an arbitrary IP address before reaching your destination, giving your torrent traffic a different identity.
One of the best proxies for torrenting is SOCKS5. This proxy uses proxy servers to form TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) or UDP (User Datagram Protocol) (UDP) connections through random IP addresses.
This prevents other users in the swarm from seeing your IP address and lets you download an anonymous torrent, but a proxy doesn’t encrypt your traffic, which means anyone can snoop of what you’re doing.
If you need more options, here are our top pics for the best proxy server services for 2022.
Bottom Line
Torrenting is an excellent way to get access to different types of content for free, but it can be risky, especially if you don’t take the right measures to protect yourself from unwanted snooping.
The best way to do that is with a VPN, but there are other ways to torrent and download anonymously, including via a proxy, i2P, a seedbox, and a cloud torrent downloader.
FAQs
Are torrents untraceable?
Torrents are traceable because they are tracked. Every torrent file is connected to a tracker that stores different information, including the IP address of each user (peer) that has that file. The tracker tells the torrent software who owns what part of the file.
Can ISP see I’m torrenting?
Your ISP won’t know what exact files you’re downloading if the website you’re using has some sort of encryption, but they can figure out you’re torrenting based on the site and the size of the file.
Sometimes, ISPs can tell that you’re torrenting by looking at the connection patterns; Multiple upload streams and multiple connections to different IP addresses usually mean that the user is downloading files.How do you know if you got caught torrenting?
If you’re caught torrenting content that you are not allowed to, your ISP will send you a letter. In most places, first-time offenders usually get a warning, but you also might face a hefty fine.
Does VPN work with torrents?
Most VPN services work with torrents. They can help you hide your IP address and encrypt your traffic to prevent your ISP from monitoring your online activity. Still, there are other ways to download torrents anonymously, including via a seedbox, cloud torrent downloaders, a proxy, and Usenet.
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Sirisha is a networking enthusiast with a bachelor's degree in computer science and engineering. She has developed a keen interest in Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) and has gone the extra mile to gain firsthand experience and knowledge.